Name: Corned Beef with Rice Bake
Ingredients: 1/2 cup finely chopped onion; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup; 1/2 cup milk; 2 eggs, slightly beaten; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon curry powder; 1 10-ounce package frozen green peas; 3 cups cooked rice; 1 12-ounce can corned beef, chilled and diced; 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm, sliceable casserole when baked.
Cream of chicken soup: Provides a creamy, moist base that holds the rice and meat together.
Cooked rice: Forms the bulk of the casserole and absorbs the creamy sauce as it bakes.
Corned beef: Supplies savory, salty meat flavor and chewy texture throughout the dish.
Cheddar cheese: Melts over the top and browns lightly during baking for flavor and color.
Butter: Softens the onion and parsley and adds richness to the base.

The step that matters

Heat until hot, but do not boil. Eggs are stirred into the sauce before cooking; boiling can curdle or scramble them, leaving a grainy, uneven texture instead of a smooth, cohesive base.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, cream, chicken, milk, egg, pepper):

Garlicfits about as well
Nutmegfits about as well
Parsleythe original
Thymefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, cream, chicken, milk, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Soup	not in our table	0

Corned Beef with Rice Bake